Weekly Top 10: The Best in Bass for the Week of May 25th
The last week of May closed the month with a bang (or a boom) in the world of bass. Our top 10 list this week kicks off with two monster videos, along with some great bass how-to’s, some new bass method and transcription books, the Bass of the Week and more.
Here is your top 10 for the week of May 25-31, 2014. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing.
1. Victor Wooten & Federico Malaman: Isn’t She Lovely
During the 2014 Musikmesse show in Frankfurt, two remarkable bassists – who have wowed us all with their solo performances – got together to perform one iconic song. Those bassists are Victor Wooten and Federico Malaman. The tune is Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”…
2. Zander Zon: “Lord of the Rings” Medley for Solo Bass
I’m not quite sure how Zander Zon produces such incredible arrangements and performances as often as he does. In this piece he performs music from the Lord of the Rings, and it is as epic as the tale…
3. Connecting Chords: A Guide to Playing Fluid Bass Lines
This week, Damian tackles questions from a reader related to chord progressions, and navigating through them. As always, Damian delivers with excellent advice and tips on practicing…
4. Lesson: Funky Slap Bass with Cross-String Hammer-Ons
Here’s a new slap bass lesson for you to try out to incorporate cross-string hammer-ons into your playing. We’ll practice this with a line I put together in the key of E. Follow along with the video and transcription…
5. Victor Wooten Announces Summer 2014 Tour and Clinic Dates
Victor Wooten is coming off a tour of Europe, but that’s not stopping him. The bassist isn’t known for taking it slow. Vic has just announced a tour which will cover 14 states in the U.S. this summer, including some free clinics along the way, as well as his VixCamps schedule…
6. Deltron 3030 Featuring Juan Alderete: City Rising From the Ashes
Juan Alderete is such a versatile bassist. In this video with Deltron 3030, the bassist lays down an unshakable groove. Of course, there’s also his unbelievably smooth use of effects…
7. Electro-Harmonix Introduces the Nano Bass Big Muff Pi
Electro-Harmonix has expanded their bass offerings with the announcement of the Nano Bass Big Muff Pi, a distortion/sustainer pedal that blends features of its predecessors into a smaller package…
8. Hal Leonard Publishes “Essential Bass Guitar Techniques…”
Don’t keep faking your way through songs. Learn how those great players created the sounds you love. Usually, it’s all about a technique – like Flea’s slapping, or Jaco Pastorius’ finger-style and harmonics. A new book aims to provide you with need-to-know techniques…
9. Hal Leonard Publishes Dream Theater Bass Anthology
John Myung’s playing in Dream Theater is hard to duplicate, but the Dream Theater Bass Anthology from Hal Leonard aims to help you do just that, with transcriptions of 14 of the progressive metal band’s most popular songs as played by the iconic bassist…
10. Bass of the Week: HJC Customs Alchemy Fretless 5
Back at the Winter NAMM show this year, we ran into our friend Vuyani Wakaba roaming the floor with a smile from ear to ear. He was overjoyed by his new HJC Customs Fretless Alchemy 5, which is this week’s Bass of the Week…
